Blog

Anatomy Of An Islamist Infamy – III

As said already in part (I) ordinary masses must be kept out of the terror equation and responsibility falls totally on political and religious leadership. The immediate task for the government is to guaranty the safety and security of all innocent Muslims and prevent a recurrence of 1983. Immediate protection must be provided to the refugees from foreign countries irrespective of their religious denomination. One cannot eradicate one evil with another evil. In this context, it is heartening to see Walpola Rahula Institute headed by an enlightened scholar monk Ven. Galkande Dhammananda is speaking loudly on the need to protect innocent Muslims, and joined by the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and popular personalities like cricketer Sangakkara. It is time for Buddhist and Christian compassion to come out strongly and protect the Muslim masses from senseless recrimination. This is the fasting month for Muslims and they need some peace to fulfil their religious obligation.

One reason why Sinhalese-Muslim relations have deteriorated over the last decade or so is because of discriminatory behaviour by police during times of trouble. Even during the Negombo violence of two days ago reports are coming that police action was not quick and tough. Why?

Secondly, an honest investigation by an independent commission should be carried out to unearth the full story behind the Easter infamy. There are a number of unanswered questions, especially with regard to the handling of information intelligence. The activities of NTJ and Jamaathe Millat Ibrahim appear to have been brought to the notice of some powerful politicians and security officers even before the Mawanella bigotry in December last year. Why was this information not acted upon? Who stood to gain by allowing this carnage to take place? These are questions that need honest answers.

Tasks for the Future

Sri Lankan authorities should not repeat the same mistake Western governments are doing in handling terrorism, i.e, to rely solely on a hard line approach and allowing security officers to handle the situation. The culprits should be caught no doubt and punished, but the entire community should not be asked to apologise for the action of a few. This is counterproductive and has led to an escalation rather than reduction in terror related incidents. One should understand that there is an ideology that is producing terrorism and that ideology has to be confronted and defeated. As mentioned in Part (I) the ultra-conservative Wahhabism was given freedom to spread by Western powers in order to counter Iranian radicalism. That radicalism was targeting to topple the monarchical, dictatorial and oligarchic regimes of the Sunni world whereas this one, in its extreme form, is targeting everyone who does not embrace its teachings.The government authorities and the Muslim community are facing an ideological war, which they have to win. More on this soon.

To start with, government and its agencies must seriously plan a campaign to instil in the young minds the idea that Sri Lanka belongs to all its citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religion and that they all have equal rights and duties. That campaign must counter the one by the Buddhist far-right that wants the ‘majority to consume the whole’. To defeat the far-right the ethnic issue that has driven this country to this situation must be resolved as a matter of urgency. To say that the north needs not a political settlement but an economic deal is to deny the Tamils any political participation in running the country. If Sri Lanka wants to become another Singapore it should first learn how that country tackled its ethnic issue. They are Singaporeans first and Chinese or Indian or Malay second. Even Malaysia that introduced its Malay first Bumitputra policy in 1970s has come to realise its futility and is now saying, ‘Malaysia for Malaysians’.The same Mahathir who advocated majoritarian politics when he was in his fifties, sixties and seventies is now renouncing it in his nineties. What a self-realisation?

The campaign, Sri Lanka for Sri Lankans, must be carried primarily through reforming the educational curriculum in schools. In teaching social science subjects like history, literature and religion, school texts that are in use today try to impart an ‘us versus them’ attitude, with ‘us’ always deemed superior compared to ‘them’. Having separated the children through language already, text book lessons are widening that separation even further. In short, education has created soft apartheid. Why shouldn’t a Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Muslim child learn the basics of each other’s religion and culture? This is a huge topic which need be revisited in the interest of nation building.

When is the occasion for all Sri Lankans to come together and celebrate their togetherness, sharing the same food and enjoying the same entertainment? All public holidays (there are too many of them) except May 1st and February 4th are religious and celebrated by a particular religious or ethnic group. Why can’t the nation cut down a few religious holidays and substitute with one public holiday just to celebrate by all communities together without any religious tamasha? That should be the national day.

The other problem facing the government is to extricate Saudi and Qatar money and labour market from Wahhabi ideology. Saudis in particular have invested a lot in the country and Saudi and Qatari labour markets absorb a significant proportion of Sri Lanka’s surplus labour. Wahhabi/Salafi ideology is the string attached to this philanthropy. How to separate the ideology from economic benefits is going to be a diplomatic nightmare to the government.

Muslim Community

To the Muslim community time has arrived for serious self-introspection. It has to come out from the state of denial and confront the issues head on. That needs action on several fronts.

First of all, until the 1980s and for nearly twelve centuries, except for the 1915 aberration, which was soon forgotten by all, Muslim community enjoyed an uninterrupted peaceful and prosperous existence in this country, which had no parallel anywhere else in the recorded history of Asia. How many of the Muslim children know about this past? Do Muslim schools and madrasas teach this history to their students? If that glorious history is understood then the next question is why was that history disrupted after 1980? Part (I) of this analysis discussed that question. In that discussion, the impact on the community of an international connection, particularly with the Arab world and more specifically with Saudi Arabia, the religious awakening in the Muslim world in the 1980s and 1990s, and the founding of SLMC as a political party were highlighted.

Given these facts, Muslim leaders and intellectuals have to consider how to combat the Saudi born ultra-conservative Wahhabi orthodoxy that is influencing Muslim religious institutions and through them the hearts and minds of young Muslims, and leading some of them at least to fall prey to extremist ideas in the name of Islam. The National Tawheed Jamaat and Jamaate Millat Ibrahim involved in the Easter carnage are two such institutions that were born from the womb of Wahhabism. What measures were taken to discipline these children by the leaders who are now accusing them? What sort of Islamic education is being taught in Muslim schools and madrasas, what topics are being dealt with in sermons delivered on Fridays and what role does ACJU play in these sermons are issues that have to be revisited and resolved rationally.

There is an absolute need to modernise madrasa education. Modernisation does not simply mean introducing modern teaching techniques, but goes far beyond that and involves reforming the curriculum of madrasa education. For example, how many of the graduates who pass out of these madrasas have any knowledge about how plural societies were built and managed in Baghdad, Cordoba and Delhi during Islam’s high noon? How many of them are familiar with the works of great Sufi poets like Ibn-Arabi, Ghalib, Nijami, Sa’adi and Rumi which teaches love, tolerance and inclusion instead of fear, hatred and exclusion? Do they learn subjects like comparative religion and philosopny? If not why not? Such knowledge is absolutely essential particularly where Muslims live as minorities in plural societies. Madrasas are producing memorisers and summarisers who delve in the past and not analysers and innovators who can provide leadership towards the future. In fact, orthodoxy does not encourage innovation because it considers it as bid’a or heresy. Reforming madrasa education cannot be postponed. ACJU wants the education ministry to regulate madrasas. That is not sufficient.

There is also a need to widen the syllabus covered in subjects like history, literature and religion taught in Government Muslim Schools to make those subjects inclusive of knowledge about other societies, their literature and culture. In fact that sort of changes should be introduced in all schools throughout the country.

With reference to education, there are rumblings heard in relation to a university like complex being built in Punanai, one of the least populated areas in the Batticaloa District. The exact story about this complex is unclear. Some say it is for a Sharia university, which Sri Lanka does not need. There is evidence however that a substantial amount of Saudi money has gone into its construction.It will be in the interest of the whole nation if that complex, when completed, turned into a research centre for agricultural and veterinary sciences or a university for post graduate studies.

Islam should not be an irritant to followers of other faiths. In fact it had never been an irritant throughout the ages, if of one cares to study its history without prejudice.It is the same scripture that produced Wahhabi exclusivism also produced inclusive Sufism and intellectual rationalism. The fault is not in the scripture but in the way one understands it.

Similarly, Muslim dress and call for prayer should never have become a problem had the ACJU used common sense to instruct their imams about the inappropriateness of the Arab dress to Sri Lankan climate and culture and about the reckless use of loud speakers in mosques. There is also a need for standardisation of Friday sermons. This is done in several Muslim countries to prevent imams from using the pulpit to indoctrinate their own interpretation of Islam. ACJU should play a positive role in this regard. In short, it was the leaders’ neglect to correct little things at the right time that allowed those issues grow big to become major issues and disturb the social equilibrium. Either ACJU should wake up and become proactive or disappear from the scene and make way for a progressive body to take over that leadership.

Islamic civilization was built on the edifice of social pluralism and Convivencia. Under that model, every community was allowed to live with its own religious rules and customs but with undivided allegiance to the ruler. Islam taught how minorities should be treated under Muslim rule. Unfortunately Islam’s past has no guidance to show how a Muslim minority should live in a non-Muslim society. This is the challenge facing not only Muslims in this country but also the one-third of world Muslims living as minorities today. Sri Lankan Muslims cannot ape the ways and means of Muslim majority countries.

On a political level, why do Muslims need a political party of their own? The formation of SLMC was a major blunder and as explained in part (I), it allowed Islamism to creep in without being noticed. Asharf’s opening address in the parliament in 1990, with the declaration of takbir, Allahu Akbar, may have driven his supporters to ecstasy, but did he realise what a genie he was un-bottling at that time? Why did the Speaker allow this happen at that time?

It is a joke to have a political party of your own, and when an election comes, its leaders contest on another party’s ticket and symbol. After winning and entering the parliament they again unashamedly claim that they represent their own party. This can happen only in Sri Lanka. Isn’t it true that among the current SLMC and ACMC parliamentarians only one contested and won on SLMC ticket?I said this before and I am saying it now. This party must be dissolved and Muslims should go back to their pragmatic politics of 1950s and 60s and identify themselves with national parties.

With the Easter carnage Muslim community has reached a cross road and a wrong turn from here will lead the community to more disasters. Muslims must recover their lost heritage.An enlightened Muslim leadership is the vital need of the day.

Latest comments

Ugly American/May 8, 2019

If there is one message you want to take home from his piece, it is this:

“…the hand of governments that governed this country since independence and how they laid the remainder of the bricks that paved the bloody road…”

Forget the Mahawansa..the hundreds of history books on Sri Lanka.
Just start from February 1948 and trace through April 2019.
Some landmarks along the way are 1958, 1972, 1977, 1983…..all the way through 2009, then April 2019.
In every single instance, the government in power had a hand in creating chaos and bloodshed.

I can categorically say – this gentleman is absolutely on point. I know it – because I lived through it.

The asses (I wanted to use a much more colorful word) in Parliament, The PM and the President, all have the audacity and gall to say, “we will be not only be like Singapore – we will surpass Singapore” !!

Dream on, you worthless pieces of human excrement !!

Singapore, a multi-ethnic, multi-religious community of citizens made up of Chinese, Indians, Malays, Europeans – at the first sign of any ethnic tension or disharmony – the inciters are rounded up and jailed.

That is how a responsible government maintains law and order.
What we have in Sri Lanka: the politicians since independence ARE the Inciters of disharmony and violence between communities.

Maybe – in another seventy years- we may evolve to become like Singapore!

But – by then we would have become a Province of China – right?

/

Amarasiri/May 8, 2019

4

1

Ugly American,

Spot on. You exposed the Ugly Sri Lankans, Dr.Ali described in Part 2.

Siyalla Dutt/May 9, 2019

/

SJ/May 8, 2019

1

1

China does not acquire provinces the way European colonial states did and the US has been doing.
Even if China intends to do any such thing, are you sure that they will bother with poking their finger in this messy state of affairs.
They know how to do business.

/

K.Anaga/May 8, 2019

4

5

UGLY AMERICAN!
You are right.It is useless going beyond 1948 to look at distorted history and its interpretations on an ‘as you like it’ basis’. Let us confine ourselves to 1948 and after when we- I mean the Sinhalese started ruling the country at their own free will. What did they achieve? They saw to it that the Tamils and Muslims are treated as 2nd class citizens. As stated by Ugly American there are land marks in support..
The Tamils revolted against it openly and the Muslims worked their way up subtly expecting that they could get at least the the 2nd best by overriding the Tamils by hanging on to their religion more than the Language- their mother tong TAMIL..
Even now the Muslims pleaded with the government that they never supported the Tamils neither in the Satiyagraha campaigns nor the open revolt of the Tamils and therefore they love the country more.. The Tamils loved their part country more than Muslims, that is why they fought for their homeland, unlike the Muslims who wanted to to get their best by other means, keeping their legs on both boats..
But Muslims betrayed themselves and and some of them decided to fight the Tamil Christians- may be with the help of the Sinhala higher- achy who are fighting among themselves.
What ever said and done Mr.Ali, there appear to be a congenital defects in the anatomy of the Muslims in Srilanka and they do not know where to go ? Where as you have gone to Australia?

/

Rajash/May 8, 2019

1

1

Ugly American – where have you been all these days.
it took a series of suicide attacks by Muslim Terrorist and a Part of the Anatomy by Dr Ali for you to realize this?

/

Amarasiri/May 10, 2019

2

0

Dr Ameer Ali,

Thanks for your article. You are one of the thinking sensible Muslims who can clearly see right from wrong, not accepting an ideology fully, but use some degree of reason.

What is Islam? The Arabic word means submission. The Muslims claim that their Islam is submission to God, the Hid of Abraham, the monotheistic God, which Abraham plucked from the Zoroastrians.

The Wahhabi Salafies and clones such as ISUS Tauheed etc also claim to be Islamic, submission.

However, there is a crucial difference. The Wahhabi-and clones submit to Satan, Iblis, per prescient Hadith if Najd

If as a respected Islamic Muslim writer, if you articulate and promote this differentiation of Islam, submission to God vs the Devil, you may likely make headway among the Muslims to think.

So, the ISID Islamic means, they submit to Satan, per Hadith of Najd

/

Ranjith(SPRRW)/May 8, 2019

6

0

Singapore is newly created country just like USA, Canada , Australia, New Zealand & south American countries. It has no history more than seven decades. It was a place where Chinese refugees from mainland China due to political situation in Main land sheltered.It was a British colony of refugees. As such you can not compare situation in Singapore with Lanka. Lanken Muslims are same as Singapore Chinese & the other communities. Lanken Muslims too are descendants of south Indian refugees & Malay & Jansenist dutch slaves.Writer May be Descendants of Javanese Dutch slaves or Base born south Indian plus Uzbek. As such Lanken Muslims have no rights what so ever to impose any Arabic Muslims rituals or traditions here. Their faiths should be in line with Buddhism & Hinduism. Lanken Culture base on traditions of Buddhism & Hinduism you Muslims like or not It should be respected & adhere to . In addition to these two traditions Sri Lankens use their prehistorical traditions & rituals too. Whoever new recruits should respects those traditions & rituals if they want to be Lanken. Otherwise refugee descendants stay here may be short lived. Your religion may be telling you those old religions & Prehistorical traditions worshipers are vile animals but you have to ignore those verses in your so called holy scriptures & live here respecting them. That is native people culture if you can not respect them you may find alternative residence in somewhere where your so called holy rituals prevail.& your holy man or so called Allah rule.

/

Lankan kolla./May 8, 2019

4

2

I agree with Amarasiri. This wahbai cult must be dismantled: It is epicentre all problems in SL and outside the of the world They oppose rational approach to texts. They oppose all groups . They claim that they are guardians of paradise as if they have keys with them

/

Donald M/May 8, 2019

3

1

Thanks, Dr Ameer Ali. Very sensibly written.

/

Santhushya Fernando/May 8, 2019

/

JD/May 8, 2019

1

1

Ameer Ali: Remember how you people, all the muslim writers here, went at BBS and the bhikku. He was cautioning at that time and became assertive. All the dollar Kaakkas and all the muslim writers who wanted profit from this mayhem, because you peoples get one 72 year old virgin when you help spread Islam, some how Sri lankan muslims hid all the muslim violence and their expansionary tactics behind BBS. Now, you are asking for buddhist compassion. what a lord of Bull$hit. YOu say, Sri lankan buddhists do no have rights to a culture. Write everything to be Propaganda.
My question tht I can not understand is, we know the west want sunnis go for SUNNISTHAN. but, why Iranians wants to send Maulavis to Sri lanka and spread Shiite philosophy.

Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera/May 8, 2019

/

Plato./May 8, 2019

2

0

Dr. Amir Ali quite rightly says that the opening address of Ashraff in Parliament with declaration of takbir, Allahu Akbar etc was totally unwarranted;
To whom was he sending that message was it the Sinhalese or the Tamils.It was a cheap gimmick,and in the process he let loose several Genies like Hisbullah et al.

/

Ahmad Nadvi/May 8, 2019

0

1

Dear Ranjith(SPRRW)!

It’s not nice for you to impose your culture like suicide bombers wanted their culture to be followed by the rest of the community. Like Chinese to Singapore you are to Sri Lanka. Remember Prince WIJAYA from Oriza or Bangalore from mainland India without entry visa landed at Thambapanni, a place between Puttalam and south of Mannar. Because you came to SL first before all other “Kallathoees” (as per Native Vedda) or before all other Paras (according to Amarasiri) you cannot claim lease to SL in perpetuity. Don’t forget when the prince, your criminal forefather along with his rowdy crowd, landed in Sri Lanka there was a queen called “Kuveni” controlled the are.

So my suggestion is to you and people like you and want see our motherland like Singapore or better than that one day then “live and let live”. If you have better than my suggest put forward.

/

Ranjith(SPRRW)/May 9, 2019

1

0

Prince Wijaya story is a bullshit. people came here from South East Africa (Maha Rata) & Island called kuru rata or now Madagascar more than 250 thousand years ago. same lots landed in west coast of Sumathra & west coast of Malayan Peninsular as well.Some traveled beyond that limits as well You can Still find their descendants in those Areas. Do you know the Meaning of Veddaa. If you do not know do not talk on origin of Sinhalese or its Language ELU. Do you know Veddaa ( people who gone to Bedda or Jungle for Living) still speak ELU ? or proto Sinhalese You people are descendants of refugees came here from south India & Dutch slaves from Java & Malaya. History not more than 600 years. First these refugee descendants must be chased out from our land.& Ban Islamism. Then we can have better future. Its my hope and suggestion.

Ranjith(SPRRW)/May 9, 2019

/

Ahmad Nadvi/May 8, 2019

1

0

Dear Dr. Ameer Ali,

I think a layer from Sri Lanka practicing in the UK, one Mr Mohaned Rauff Nisthar, had similar view like your’s and brought few of them when our infamous President Srisena visited London in March 2015 . He suggested the President to consider introducing common Religious Studies to all student up to GCE O/L to know each other’s religions at all government schools. He even went further suggesting to do a necessary changes to take the “race” column out of birth certificates and give common Identity for all Sri Lankans.

The President told them he would look into the matter according to their web paper “Sonakar.com” (Mr. Nisthar is part of it. I guess)

/

sinhalese buddhist/May 8, 2019

2

0

I agree Ameen that we should start the training of our children to living in a pluralistic society from a very young age. A subject such as “harmonius living in a pluralistic society” along with good civics is a start. This should be compulsory in ALL schools – regardless of whether it is public or private.

I was surprised to learn that some schools in Colombo have racial quotas – I wasn’t aware of such. When I went to school in the 80s (2 different government schools) there were many muslims, and some tamils, in addition to folks from all religions.

If this is not the case now, it is high time to integrate the schools. The children from Sinhala and Tamil medium could take some classes together in English.

/

Rajash/May 8, 2019

1

0

Dr. Ameer Ali “….It is time for Buddhist and Christian compassion to come out strongly and protect the Muslim masses from senseless recrimination….”

as usual the Muslims don’t need the Tamils.
…when are they going to learn?

/

Bodin/May 11, 2019

0

0

The Tamils want an EXCLUSIVE HOMELAND and drove the Muslims out at the point of guns. Now you want them to want the Tamils? Not ONE Tamil leader has so far apologized to the Muslims. The Tamil leaders have NOT so far rejected their objective of an exclusive homeland, but instead Wigneswaran and Sampanthanhave re-enforced it.
The TNA was, and still is the Mouth piece of the LTTE, and has recruited Sinhalese collaborators like Jayampathy Wicks to draw up a constitution where they want to ANNEX the East to the North.
Then, some day when they get full provincial powers, in the future they will eject the Muslims add the Sinhalese at gun point and ethnically cleanse the East to form their ethnically pure Tamil Eelam.

We should not trust TAMIL politicians until they REJECT their racist mono-ethnic ambitions and attempt to build an inclusive society rejecting the divisive politics of the Jayampathy Wicks types and create a centrally run multi-cultural society where every sri lankan can live as an equal everywhere, where there NO parts which are “belong” some racial groups and not others..

/

Nathan/May 9, 2019

1

0

Ha..ha…there is a very good, honest Muslim leader wants BBS Chief Gnanasara thero to be released at once. What a compassion, what a love and what a mithri.? Even Buddha would have lost. This is typical double game. This guy is under serious scrutiny about his varied involvements and even threatened that blood will flow! Now he thought that the best bet is to go after this guy who is an uncrowned king of Anti-Muslim movement and acts. Just see the game and this is worse than our Sinhala politics. This is nothing but tiding over adverse weather.

/

In conclusion, there are no Muslim extremists according to three articles in the CT by Dr Ameer Ali. All who terrorised the whole world on 21st April are not Muslims and weapons, swords, explosive and all other military-grade equipment found by the army and the Police of Sri Lanka are not from Muslim churches and people who kept those items hidden are also not Muslims.

Yes, of course, there is a far right Sinhala Buddhist extremism that should be addressed as a matter of urgency.

This is a very shameful and diabolic analysis. On the other hand, three articles have not succeeded in giving a rational explanation on why Muslims agitated due to the so-called discrimination by the far-right Sinhala Buddhist Extremism attacked three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels in which wealthy western tourists usually stay.

However, this not the way forward for Muslims to start a new chapter of peaceful co-existence with other communities. For such a reconciliation, Muslims have to acknowledge that there are extremist Muslim religious groups within their community and those groups should not be tolerated with a soft heart and these terrorist groups should be eradicated by Muslims themselves with a right focus on the issue. Unless the situation will have to be handled as the LTTE menace was eliminated. Thus, mere denial and blame game will not be helpful for a peaceful Sri Lanka.

/

KA/May 10, 2019

0

3

Sinhalese are racist facist, and elimination means genocide of Sinhalese.

Get out of my home, Tamil Eezham. Sinhalese have their own home, Sori Sinhala Lanka.

/

For that matter, do Tamils have their own country in this world? Tamil Nadu is also not a country. Then how the Tamils have a country in Sri Lanka? The dream of Tamil Elam met a natural death when Praba died in the banks of Nandikadal. If Tamils want a country, they should start a fight in India, not in Sri Lanka. Tamils started the separatism with the blessings of a similar movement in India. Nehru and other leaders crushed the separatist movement in India. Then Tamils took every effort to establish a mono-ethnic enclave in Sri Lanka. The idea was that Sri Lanka would be an easy launching pad to establish a separate country in India. All projects failed pathetically bringing only the misery to many in particular the Tamils themselves. So do not try any more blood shedding. No more slogans of Tamil Elam, just try to learn to live in peace with other communities.

/

Eagle Eye/May 10, 2019

0

0

KA,
If native Sinhalayo are racist and facist, you the descendants of slaves brought by colonial parasites are free to leave this country. Go to Portugal, Netherlands or Britain because they brought your ancestors. Native Sinhalayo did not bring your ancestors, Sinhalayo did not invite you guys to Sinhale and Sinhalayo are not asking you to stay in Sinhale. Please get lost. Sooner the better. Your home is in the other side of Palk Strait.

/

Eagle Eye/May 9, 2019

3

0

“To start with, government and its agencies must seriously plan a campaign to instil in the young minds the idea that Sri Lanka belongs to all its citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or religion and that they all have equal rights and duties.”
——-
Demala and Muslim leaders/politicians miserably failed to guide the younger generations. They should have told the younger generation to learn Sinhala spoken by the majority and gain an understanding about the Sinhala Buddhist culture if they want to live in this country. Instead of promoting the idea of living in harmony with Sinhalayo, particularly the politicians in both communities promoted confrontation for their political gains. That is how the problem started.
If one look at the ethnic conflicts after independence, all of them were initiated by minorities. After 1983, Sinhalayo demonstrated a remarkable degree of tolerance to LTTE terrorist activities. LTTE killed Buddhist monks, killed worshipers at Sri Mha Bodhiya, bombed ‘Dalada Maligawa’. Yet not a single Demala person was killed, harmed or started a large scale backlash. With the latest incident, not a single Muslim was killed or harmed. So, instead of blaming native Sinhalayo you guys should blame yourselves for the blunders committed.
———-
Some still blame Sinhalayo for not treating minorities equally. Can any of you guys give an answer to this question?
“What is it that the Sinhalayo are enjoying that the other communities are not enjoying because they are not Sinhala?’.

/

Bodin/May 11, 2019

0

0

I am happy to read these articles and I am proud as a Muslim that we have some educated and enlightened Muslims. I hope these three articles are translated into Sinhala and Tamil, and that they are distributed free to Mosques, temples, and Churches, and also in Schools. They should also be given the MPs who are educated enough to READ.

/

nihaj/May 15, 2019

0

0

Dear Dr Ameer ali,
a very worthy article, able to initiate the discussion among the society from your suggestion, yet what i found not relevant for the society, especially in the indian subcontinent, is deep division on politically by the name islam and whose culture, which could not be inextricable from politics.
you can refer the indo- paki division by the name of islam and its cultural values. unlike the wetern countries, islam was demonstrated against other religious value.
the suggestion to ape the western model to abstain the parties from religious identity, which not fit at this context. what we can do is, radically revise the political objectives of the party. whether it was named by the religion or not, its mission and vision to be inclined to the cultural norms.
further you forget to mention how some educated groups in kattankudy used the popular radicalized ideology, which had been built in the society by the Saudi funding, for their political gaining. and how the Sufi faction was portrayed as evil to deserve the stage for the radical elements through what they did against those factions. i really want to discuss regard this further

/

Leave A Comment

Comments should not exceed 300 words. Embedding external links and writing in capital letters are discouraged. Commenting is automatically shut off on articles after 10 days and approval may take up to 24 hours. Please read our Comments Policy for further details.
Your email address will not be published.